LOS ANGELES - As Bernard Lagat pounds the familiar back roads near his home in Tucson, Arizona, on another day of intense training, he suddenly hears a faint warning voice behind him.
Bernard Lagat of the U.S. (L) celebrates with compatriot Matthew Tegenkamp after winning the men's 5000 metres final at the 11th IAAF World Athletics Championship in Osaka in this September 2, 2007 file photo. [Agencies] |
"Car! Car!" cautions the small voice, unmistakably belonging to Lagat's two-year-old son Miika who is watching from the roadside with his mother, Gladys.
Whether it is his coach James Li preaching pace or young Miika warning him about oncoming cars, double world champion Lagat is taking it all in, absorbing everything in preparation for August's Beijing Olympics.
"There's always something new to learn," the Kenyan-born American Lagat told Reuters. "I can never sit back and relax, I have a long way to go before the Olympics."
For the last decade, Lagat has been one of the world's top middle-distance runners but, in many ways, he considers himself still a student in the sport.
"You have to approach each race, each training session with an open mind and try to take something away from it," the 33-year-old said.
RECORD HOLDER
Lagat has already taken plenty away from his career on the track. He won a silver medal in the 1,500 metres at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and a bronze at the 2000 Games in Sydney.
Last year in Osaka, Japan, he became the first athlete to win the 1,500 and 5,000 at the same outdoor world championships. He is also the U.S. indoor record holder for the 1,500, the mile and the 3,000.
Lagat, who became a U.S. citizen in 2004, has a resume that would make most runners envious. However, he has never rested on his laurels and the key to his sustained excellence has been his ability to keep evolving through each competition.
At last month's Adidas Track Classic in Carson, California, he produced his trademark late kick to win the 1,500 after the race had to be restarted because of an early crash involving three runners.
